A path of encounters and misunderstandings: the relationship between the 2030 Agenda and public policies

Abstract

The 2030 Agenda and public policies share the purpose of intervening politically in reality in order to respond to public problems. The 2030 Agenda does so from a global logic based on a principle of universally shared, but differentiated, responsibilities. Public policies do so from a territorialised logic and circumscribed to political communities and groups clearly delimited in terms of inclusion and representativeness. The article addresses the need to establish an in-depth dialogue between the 2030 Agenda and public policies to mutually reinforce and complement each other's capacity to fulfil the aforementioned purpose. To this end, it starts from the existence of conceptual and practical differences that limit the necessary interactions between the approaches of the 2030 Agenda and the functioning of public policies. It also points out the main elements of friction that explain the limitations in guiding public policies towards the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda and the problems of a society that is increasingly determined by dynamics of transnationalisation, interdependence and eco-dependence. On the basis of this analysis, some of the main challenges that the current civilisational crisis demands, in the form of renewed approaches, from the discipline and practice of public policy are explored and identified. From the necessary broadening of public policies that this challenge incorporates, the article closes by pointing out the importance of public policies in order to face a democratic future in the post-2030 horizon.